Sunday

Jun.
11, 2000

Song: To Celia

Today is
Pentecost, the 7th
Sunday after Easter. Recognized since the 3rd
century, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy
Spirit upon the Apostles. As this is a popular date for
baptisms, it's also called "Whitsunday" or
"White Sunday" for the white garments often
worn by babies during the ceremony.

Today is observed in Hawaii as Kamehameha Day,
honoring King Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819), who united
the Hawaiian Islands into a single kingdom. Between 1785 and
1810, Kamehameha took control of the various Hawaiian
islands, organized a government, allowed foreign traders to
settle, and ended the practice of human sacrifice.

It's the birthday of novelist Allan Gurganus,
born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (1947), author of
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
(1989).

It's the birthday of playwright and actor (Harold)
Athol Fugard, born in Middleburg, Cape Province,
South Africa (1932), author of "Master
Harold"and the Boys (1982), The Blood Knot
(1960), The Drummer (1980), A Place with the Pigs
(1987), and The Captain's Tiger (1997).

It's the birthday of novelist William Styron,
born in Newport News, Virginia (1925), author of Lie Down
in Darkness (1951), The Confessions of Nat Turner
(1967Pulitzer Prize), and Sophie's Choice (1979the
movie, starring Meryl Streep, came out in 1982), and other
books.

It's the birthday of critic Irving Howe, born in
New York City's East Bronx (1920). In the 1950s he founded
Dissent, a magazine of what he called the
"moderate Left." His most widely read book is
World of Our Fathers (National Book Award, 1976), a
history of Eastern European immigration to America.

It's the birthday of Japanese novelist Yasunari
Kawabata, born in Osaka (1899). His best-known novel is
Snow Country (1948); others include The Sound of
the Mountain (1952) and A Thousand Cranes (1952).
Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968,
the first
Japanese author so honored.

It's the birthday of poet and dramatist Ben
Jonson, born in London (1572). He worked as a
bricklayer, served in the army, became a traveling actor,
then began writing plays. His first important play was
Every Man in his Humour (1598), performed at the
Curtain Theatre with William Shakespeare in the cast. He
also wrote Volpone (1605) and The Alchemist
(1610).

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Although he has edited several anthologies of his favorite poems, O, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic & Profound forges a new path for Garrison Keillor, as a poet of light verse.
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